e-mail trail. new information surfaces on what forced the head of the cia to resign abruptly. the latest on the investigation ahead. cliff dwellers. commentses on mr. lawmakers will be able to steer the u.s. away from fiscal catastrophe. in office politics. eugene robinson on one thing that did not factor into tuesday's election. between day, everyone. welcome to weekends with alex whitt. we begin with new details on what precipitated the end of the storied military career. we now know what started an fbi investigation that ended in general petraeus' abrupt resignation. it all started with complaints to the fbi about harassing e-mails sent from this woman, paula broadwell, to the another unnamed woman. petraeus was not the focus of investigators, but that led them to other e-mails between petraeus and broadwell which officials tell nbc news were indicative of an extramarital

affair. the general admitted to an extramarital affair in his resignation letter. meanwhile we're now hearing from petraeus' former spokesperson. he talked to kristen welker. she's in washington with more. >> i interviewed steven boylan by phone saturday. he called petraeus a mentor and friend. boylan says he's stunned by the news about his former boss. in the meantime, new details are emerging about how this all came to light. according to multiple sources, the down fall of general david petraeus all started with a seemingly unrelated complaint to the fbi. officials say it was triggered by e-mails from paula broadwell to another woman not related to petraeus who felt she was being harassed and complained to the fbi. officials say in recent weeks, the fb icht traced the e-mails to broadwell and only stumbled

on the relationship with petraeus as a result. >> my first reaction was disbelief. >> reporter: steven boylan worked with petraeus from 2005 to 2008, including in iraq. the two have remained close and spoke by phone on saturday. >> he said he had an excellent job, an exceptional family, he had had a great relationship he thought with the white house. and in his words, he screwed up. and he knows it. >> reporter: officials in washington are also still processing the stunning turn of events which started on tuesday. that's when the justice department notified the head of national intelligence, james clapper, about broadwe'll e-mails. and then clapper notified the white house wednesday. thursday morning, tom made the president aware. mr. obama accepted his

resignation. still lawmakers want more answers and some say petraeus should tistill testify on capit hill about ben gaz vi ghazi att. the woman at the center, paul what broad did the well, a 40-year-old mother of two, an army reserve office who like petraeus graduated from west point. broadwell has not been shy about her access to petraeus. co-hosting a barbecue with jon stewart to raise money for wounded warriors before the democratic national convention in september. she spoke often about her connection to the cia director which she acknowledged rubbed some in the military the wrong way. >> i was embedded with general petraeus in afrg and it was a little confusing for some of the folk there is because i'm also a military reservist. so a lot of my former peers didn't know how to treat me. >> reporter: steven boy wlan says he exchanged e-mails and calls with broadwell when she

was just starting to do research for her book. >> she sounded driven, she seemed smart on the topic. >> reporter: like so many, boylan is still wheeling from the news. but he hopes america will remember petraeus' 30 plus years of service. >> i would have to say they need to understand that he's human. no one's perfect. he made a mistake. i hope that we didn't hear the last of him. >> reporter: law enforcement sources tell nbc news that general petraeus is not under investigation and they don't expect their inquiry will result in criminal charges. we continue to reach out for comment but have not heard back. >> a bit later we'll hear from andrea mitchell. she broke the story of the resignation friday. let's go to front page politics and new today, both sides weighing in on the fiscal cliff on today's "meet the press." >> is the bottom line that

republicans losing this election means that they have to give in and allow taxes to go up on wealthier americans? >> i think they already agreed to that. i think you heard john boehner say that. we've had votes in the senate where we've gotten rid of tax credits. i think that's a given. >> we need the republicans to do in 2012 what we did in 2010. we hear the mandate continue to cut spending, but they have to hear the than date real revenues not like dynamic scoring. >> and here's what happens if no agreement is reached before january 1st.bush tax rates expire. emergency unemployment benefits will end. the 2011 payroll tax holiday expires. and $984 billion in cuts will be triggered. joining me now, andy sullivan

and sher a tupletts. what do you expect to come out of the meeting friday and will any real progress made? >> oh, no, but i think the optics will be important. there will beside by side getting their picture taken and i think this will reassure voters and most importantly investors that they are serious about the problem and they want t to get something done before the end of the year. they've pretty much gotten a free ride from the markets. everybody knew this was coming up, but interest rates have remained low and the stock market has been climbing pretty steady until last week when it dropped suddenly. so they'll want to say, look, we're aware of the problem, we'll fix it. >> the president wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans, but john boehner says raising tax rates on anyone is, quote, unacceptable. is this all just posturing? do both sides have an idea you

think where compromise will lie? >> yeah, i think you are hearing a lot of talk and as you put it posturing between both sides. they're drawing lines in the sand saying this is what we're willing to discuss or not discuss. but especially on the staff level, there are discussions going on about what is really on the table in terms of what they could compromise on. republicans have thrown out the idea of reforming the tax code and looking at deductions for both personal and business income as a way to jgenerate wretch n revenue. >> an article talks about the conference call speaker boehner had with the house republicans and the quote goes members on the call subdued and dark murmured words of support even a few who had been a thorn in the speaker's side for much of this this congress. a striking contrast to a similar call in last year.

last year's grand bargain between boehner and the president fell through reportedly because of the tea party types in the gop. should we believe that's changed? >> yeah, i think the dynamics probably have changed a little bit after this election. i think speaker boehner has a lot more clout to get his caucus in line. the president was reelected, democrats picked up seats in the house and the senate. so a lot of these republicans who were elected in 2010 may not believe that they have such a mandate from the public to cut spending and shrink government as they did two years ago, but i think it's not going to be an easy process. probably what you'll see is republicans pass a lot of legislation out of the house and then watch it get rejected in the senate. they'll have to do this a few times and then maybe they can reach some sort of compromise. >> speaking of the senate, the president says he's willing to compromise, but could he face push back from the dems?

>> i think a lot of senate democrats would like to see that. i also bring up social security. jay carney mentioned social security could be part of some grand bargain. senate democrats especially harry reid do not want to such social security. so i think there will somebody road blocks there. it will take negotiation through all three chambers to get something done. two chambers, excuse me. >> andy, who blinks first? >> i would say the president has more leverage at this point. after the election, there's been a lot of soul searching on the republican side about can we not appeal to latinos, are we losing women. and if we do go over the fiscal cliff, there's a chance republicans will get blamed for that and they could lose support in the business community. there's another factor here. if all tax rateses for americans rise on january 1st, the president can just come back and say, hey, i've got a great idea,

let's cut taxes for everybody except for the top two income brackets. >> shera, do you think a deal will be reached before january 1st? >> i think we'll see a deal. whether or not it's a good deal is in question. they could still kick the can down the road. and if you're democrat, you'll see your numbers increase in the senate and p ththat would give president even more negotiating room and power. >> all right. good to talk to you both. tomorrow marks two weeks since hurricane sandy hit the east coast and today homeland security know po napolitano is set to return to the region. michelle has the new realty. >> we're just shy of the two week mark. tens of thousands are still without power and thousands you been able to return home. in seaside heights, new jersey,

listening lines and a flood of emotio emotions. >> it's like a horror movie to me. >> reporter: the damaged beach side communities and hopes still off limits. >> we we whether not allow people on the island until it's sense. >> reporter: this homeowner still waits on the fate of his home. >> if i can't come back for six months, might as well tear my house down. >> reporter: in new jersey and new york, more than 4,000 residents are staying in shelters. and nearly a quarter of a million people are still without power. nearly two weeks after the storm hit. on long island, protests and anger that the utility company lipa hasn't worked quickly enough. >> we're cold and we're tired and we want our power now. >> reporter: the agency says power has been restored to 93% of long island.

meanwhile new york joined new jersey ordering gas rationing rules to help reduce long lines and pl frustration at the pump. this as hundreds of vol volunteers spanned out to bring relief. and long term housing for di displaced residents. >> it renders you speechless. thank you very much. west coast headlines are next with california's riskiest step yet to find global warming. plus for many the president's health care plan, are states ready and when might you feel the effects? i'll speak to joe sestak after this break. ♪

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some headlines making news out on the west coast. in arizona, the dispatch has the front page story obama captures florida, about how the president won the state's electoral votes. t and cap and trade comes to state. and the daily news has a story on how wedding plans are blossoming after the passage of a referendum that made same-sex marriage legal. today is veterans day and the president laid a wreath at arlington national cemetery's

tomb of the unknown soldier. >> each year on the 11th day of the 11th month, we pause as a nation and as a people to pay contribute ptribute to you, to o honor you, the heros over the generations who have served this country of ours with distinction. >> and joining me now is admiral joe sestak, former democratic congressman from pennsylvania who has certainly served this country well. thank you so much for being here. >> good to be with you. >> thank you for your service. we are 11 years and one month into america's longest war. is there enough national and military will to get us to the planned 2014 withdrawal? >> without any question that there is. look, i honestly believe the president has the right emphasis on withdrawing from afghanistan because the real center of

gravity to america over this coming century is in the western pacific and this president has actually shifted for example 60% of our naval forces to the western pacific. terrorism in my mind will be with us for some time, but it's more of a tactical issue. we have to keep finding those who want to to us harm. but china has had several naval conflicts. we need to be there not in a bee lidge rent way, but as a broker. this is an economy issue. so i think that this withdrawal has to be done because our true national security is in the western pacific. >> let's talk about the unemployment rate here at home for post-9/11 veterans. it's 10%. for women, 15.5%. and both of those numbers are far too high. so what can we be doing to help

our veterans when they return to civilian life? >> in the case of jobs, two things. i think it was outrageous that the senate voted to spend over $100 billion on that war where it was all put on to our credit card would not approve a bill for $1 billion for job corps this summer. and you have to look at not just policieses, but how well are they executed. texas hired 25 veterans. and every time a discharge -- a veteran is given his discharge papers or texas veteran applies for unemployment, both those forms are the veteran's contact information is sent to that office of those 125 veterans. they then contact every single texas veteran with half their office. the other half is getting together all the businesses in texas and they match up in a

very grass roots way a veteran who as applied for unemployment or has been discharged with a job there. they are doing it better than almost any other state with the exception of california. so two issues. senate, remember you voted to send them over there on our credit card. how about taking care of them at home. and the second one is make sure you do it in a military way. very practical grass root as approach like texas is doing. >> very well organized it sounds like to me. how about we can't not discuss you this, the scandal surrounding david petraeus' resignation. do you think he should have resigned since he is serving such a critical role? >> yes, i think general petraeus, who is without any question one of the finest generals of our generation did the right thing. because general petraeus knew what a leader really means in the military. and that is a leader is given great responsibility and with

that authority, but with them both goes accountability. because he well understood that if you lose the trust, a purposeful group will discindy great eventually into chaos. even though it may seem cruel to civilian life, it is what is most wanted by the american people in their political leaders. and i think it is wanting today just like where you began this interview with hose leaders in the united states senate who aren't willing to be accountable for those men and women who they sent to war and wouldn't give them the benefits that they deserve. i think general petraeus did the right thing and the president did the right thing in accepting it. it speaks to accountability which this nation so well wants. >> i want to speak to but health care because you are a major advocate of the president's health care overall.

how will itt ebe implemented? >> the biggest issue is without a question the establishment by every state of a national health exchange. this is a tremendous benefit if over 20 million americans who will now be able to have one stop comparison shopping in all the health care planses that are out there in very consumer friendly terms. 96% of all businesses will also be able to go on to these websites and pick the best plans for them. this is something that those governors who have delayed up until now it for establishing it thinking that the affordable care act would be overturned have got to get out and about implementing it for the good of the consumer, their people in their state who now can have access to health care and on this exchange find out whether they qualify for tax credits. for example, we will have any business which is about 96% of them that has less than 25

people qualify for up to 50% of a tax credit. it will lower small businesses costs of health care premiums by 4%. and so even health insurance companies and hospitals and providers want to get their plans out there to the public so that you can have a much more competitive marketplace. they can sell their wares. this competition will reduce costs. good for the consumer, good for the provider because it will decrease costs and increase i think our overall health care plan. but the states have got to get out and start doing it for those that delayed it because they go up 1 january 2014. >> admiral sestak, we welcome you back anytime. thank you so much. election polls show more americans want the wealthy to pay higher taxes. so the big question, will republicans still refuse to put tax hikes on the table.

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new york has overtaken london to become the world's top financial center. that's based on number of people employed in the financial industry. meanwhile london has surpassed new york city for the most expensive homes with prices up to about $9500 a square foot. the real estate market's rebounding in most of the country, but the website 24/7 wall street points out ten areas where housing prices are going down. raleigh, north carolina, prices have dropped 16% in the past year. now talking taxes. putting federal taxes aside, the state with the greatest tax burden, tennessee. factoring in state income tax and sales tax, folks pay a combined rate of almost 9.5%. second ranked arizona pays about

a half point less. louisiana is third with a rate of more than 8.75%. take the bloody shot. >> 007, oh, my. the new movie is making a killing at the box office. deadline.com says sky fall will take in about $80 million this weekend in the u.s. and it's approaching half a billion dollars in earnings worldwide. and those are your number ones here on weekends with alex witt. [ male announcer ] free windows 8 training from your son. can you help me with something? nope! good talk. [ male announcer ] or free windows 8 training when you buy a computer at staples. another way staples makes it easier to upgrade. [ male announcer ] jill and her mouth have lived a great life. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about.

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welcome back. just past the half hour. new reaction today from a leading republican senator. on "meet the press," tom coburn

shares his take on what lessons his party can learn. >> you have to demonstrate what you're for, not what you're against. i think that's the key ingredient. and sell a vision that's positive for america, not a negative vision about what's wrong with america. i think you have to have both. but we didn't explain to people what we're for. and i think that's the one thing i took away from the election and that's what was lacking. >> joining me now for strategy talk, syndicated radio talk show host and karen finney, political analyst. hello, you, too, glass d to hav you both here. michael, let's talk deficit reduction. politico tallied up the exit polls and found 6 out of 10 americans being taxes should be increased. how can the republicans leaders stand by their refusal?taxes sh

increased. how can the republicans leaders stand by their refusal? >> i don't think they can. one of the net/nets of the election tally is that the democratic messaging was successful and it comports with what i hear day in and day out from radio listeners who call me and that is that they want everybody to have skin in the game. the way i was sum up what i hear is a sentiment of shared sacrifice and the best way to approach that is to have some kind of a comprehensive plan where everyone is suffering a little. nobody is sharing an undual burden, but everybody has schedule skin in the game. >> karen, the president certainly while reelected, he still has to deal with many republicans whose constituents did not vote for him. so what moves can he use to bar again with republicans on tax increases? >> i think a couple of things. the president won fairly handily and i think the message as michael was saying is i think

across the spectrum. people want compromise. so i think the president goes in to this conversation in a very different place than i think we were in 2010, although i have to say whereas some of the republicans sound like they understand that, some don't. some talk about we also have a mandate. no, your mandate is to work with the president and that creates a very different sort of landscape and i also think that speaker boehner is probably more in a mood to try to collaborate. i think he now doesn't have some of the farthest of the right wing to deal with. so i think he has a little bit more room to negotiate and to work with the president on. but i think the president has a pretty clear mandate in terms of what people care about and the approach that they backed essentially with their votes on tuesday. p. >> do you think the president is willing, karen, to pass the january 1st deadline and plunge us over the fiscal cliff if it means sticking to his guns on tax increases? >> no, i don't think he does. but one thing missing is it's

not just up to the president. congress has a constitutional responsibility, as well. and during the campaign, we heard a lot of rhetoric that abdicated that and put a lot on the president. so it's important for all of us to remember and keep the pressure on both the president and congress to get a deal. whether that means they have to just let's get through the end of this year and then kick it down the can and start again with the new session of congress, that's fine. but everybody has shall responsibility here. >> michael, the president has jumped ahead of republicans on several of the big issues. immigration and health care. what issues can the gop hang it hat on? >> the gop needs to go back to the drawing board i think. i listened carefully to the sound bite you just laid from the senator. what they really need to confront is the echo chamber that has driven the messaging. all of these folks listening to one another, but being within a bubble. and too often i think hanging their hats on that false

narrative of the president being an other. it will suit the gop well and it will suit the country well if the next time that sort of hate speech arises, if they skon front it and they say, wait a minute, that's not who we can are, we want to talk issues and we'll have some respect this time around for the president and the office of the presidency of the united states. that doesn't mean roll over it doesn't mean put aside your policy disagreements, but there needs to be a fundamental change in the way in which they approach the president of the united states. >> to what extent are republicans be willing to work with democrats? >> it in the house, it's likely that boehner as he has whether need nancy pelosi's help to have some democratic votes to get some things passed. and i think harry reid is also -- everybody understands that you don't get congress at these very overall wloe ratings

if you aren't willing to work together. you have a few people with their necks on the line in a couple years. so i think there's the blirl reality. i just want to add, though, to something michael said, toy thi i do think the republican party needs to figure out how they'll accept the country if who it is and where we are. it's not just a matter of messaging. it's a matter of deciding are they going to embrace the diversity that is america in the 21st century. >> i want to talk about the post-election articles. you had karl rove practically demanding a recount on national television. why were they so surprised? >> because they relied on emotion. and in the end, data trumped emotion. aim thinking of nate silver. i'm thinking of some of the trashing that he had to endure in the blogosphere.thinking of . i'm thinking of some of the trashing that he had to endure in the blogosphere. in retrospect you wonder where

in lie the surprise for the romney forces because consistently they showed in the targeted states in those nine swing states that this was going to be the outcome, but they were thinking that yard signs necessarily equated with votes when they didn't. they were measuring rally attendance when they should have been looking at hard data. and so it's all a part of what i said a moment ago and what karen is saying. it's a big country. you got to embrace it or it will do you in for future cycles because demographics are not on the side of the sgchgop. >> is there a character matt tick figure that can bring it back? >> part of what we did in 2005 in the after math 6 john kerry's loss,figure that can bring it b? >> part of what we did in 2005

in the after math 6 john kerry's loss, they're going through the same question. who is the leader of the sdmic party. and part of what we did frankly between governor dean and leadership in the house and the senate, we brought governors in and mayors in and kind of said how do we as a party better communicate our values. we looked at we're losing votes among people whom they share our values. so how do we do a better job of communicating those values. and think that's the kind of tough look that the republicans really are going to have to take in terms of where they go from here and what kind of party they want to be. >> but the democrats after '88, though, they he did a lot of soul searching and along came bill clinton. >> that's true. i just think in 2005 we were in a slightly different position. >> i think there's also a mechanical issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. and that is the nominating process for the gop. because you've had this exodus

of independents. that needs to be addressed thousand. they need to think about how they'll increase that voting pool.sand. they need to think about how they'll increase that voting pool. closed primaries are i think to the detriment of the gop. they should open that process. you'll see the likes of mike huckabee or sarah palin or rick santorum emerge as a favorite when my opinion is none of the above could be elected in a general election. so they have to focus on that process sooner than later, as well. >> okay. michael, karen, always a pleasure. thank you. office politics with eugene robinson, his take on how a weak republican party is bad for the country. in america today we're running out of a vital resource we need to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs

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election day, things should be a lot quieter. we'll get a read on retail sales for october. department stores may have lost business due to hurricane sandy, but home improvement chains may have picked up some business. we'll get two readings on inflation. if you take away food and energy, inflation should be tame. and in today's office politics, the "washington post'" eugene robinson was asked how much to qualify how much political capital the president has considering only a few million separate will imfrom mitt romney. can the president borrow the traz i have earned political capital and i intend to use it from george w. bush? >> well, those are certainly not words he should speak. yes, he has earned some political capital. but i think in order to do big

things, and this is a president who doesn want to do big things he needs more political capital than he has now. he'll have to bring along a substantial portion of those 53 million people who voted against him. and so how does he do that. if he has difficulty in negotiating with republican elected officials, the standard technique is to kind of appeal over the head to their constituents and don't minimize the challenges and they'll remember him i think to demonstrate that he's learned a bit about how to govern the country and that he'll be better at it. >> how much did bill clinton help this cam been? >> i think he was an kree nenor help. it was fascinating it has been said that bill clinton explains president obama's policies

better than president obama does. i think you can make that argument and there's a lesson there that i think anyone running for office could learn watching bill clinton on the stump. it's kind of ironic, too, because clinton now is this sort of very widely beloved evunk cuellar figure. and we forget how -- >> a few issues. >> how people were a few years ago about bill clinton, the fact that he was impeached. but he is a talented political speaker and political thinker. and i would be stunned if president obama, who absorbed like a sponge, i'd be stunned if he wasn't playing close attention. >> what do you think shoulders more of the claim for the republican loss, mitt romney the candidate or is it the conservative wing of the

republican party? >>. >> i think it's mostly the conservative wing of the republican party. i'm not a republican. but i really think it's great for this country to have a vibrant engaged relevant republican party. personal responsibility. fiscal responsibility. patriotism. strong defense. >> national security, sure. >> these are good issues. these are things, ideas, that should appeal broadly. and it's an important strain of american political thought that has to be kind of sort of in the dynamic tension with the other strain that the democratic party traditionally represents. we do much better when we have both and we can take the best of

both and then move forward. today's republican party in my opinion is a mess. the right lessons i have to be i think that, you know, to come a little bit closer back to the center, try to find common ground, find a way to work together with the president rather than being in constant opposition. >> do you think that much of the gop losses, the genesis of it, was during the primary season on the issue of immigration? you look who came out to vote and those who were concerned about that. >> huge. immigration was huge. latinos were a bigger share of the electorate in this election than they were in 2008. clearly this was a motivating factor. and this is something the republican party really needs to get or it will fwe the way of the whig party. 50,000 latinos turn 18 in this

country every month. republicans are sending them a message that that we don't want you, we don't care about you, we didn't particularly like you, go away. and until republicans cross that threshold, they're not going to get latino votes and they're not going to win elections. >> in our next hour, eugene talks about the future of obamacare and whether he thinks we'll fall off that fiscal cliff come january. how the president hopes to achieve greatness. i'll speak with major garrett of the national journal next. people love our potpourri parties. it's a smell of a good time. this is the juniper! oh that is magical. [ male announcer ] when you combine creamy velveeta with zesty rotel tomatoes and green chiles, you'll get a bowl of queso that makes even this get-together better.

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a nice sunshine day out there in times square. the national journal argues just because the cam been is over, it does not mean rhetoric can be shelved. joining me is the writer of that article, major garrett. good to see you. welcome. so you write about the president's checklist of second term pursuits here. here they are. immigration, tax reform, deficit reduction and climate change. just one of those alone would be a major accomplishment. what does he have to do to succeed and is it possible? >> it is possible. and what the president has to do is understand one thing. and republicans in congress have to understand the other. this has to be a joint understanding process. the president has to understand that the 2010 house republican majority wasn't a fluke. similarly, congressional republicans, and i start with speaker boehner in the house and mitch mcconnell, who back in

2010 october told me his number one priority was to make sure president obama is a one term president. well, the president's re-election isn't a fluke either. institutional powers have been resent to washington. they're both retime actors with real power and they must come together. why? after the internal conversation of a national election, we now have external events that are all too real and pose a very serious threat to the u.s. economy. the fiscal cliff is not theoretical. it is a real problem. it has to be dealt with and the only path is bipartisanship. >> you write administration officials tell you president obama is hungry to move to the center. do you think congress is willing to meet him there? >> i think republicans have gun to internalize the election. they thought the president could be defeated in a bad economic climate. that didn't happen. the house majority in the house smaller. the senate minority is smaller

and they didn't whip the presidency. so there are real factors. and you can say that the country is still nominally conservativc, but on the big question of finding more revenue, the country said yes. now we just have to decide under what semantic umbrella do we raise more revenue. higher rates, republicans say no. tax reform, republicans are giving a green light. everyone has to figure out how to get into that or under that semantic umbrella and make things happen. >> one of the criticisms of the president is that he spent so much of his early part of the first term focused on health care when he should have been focused on the economy. is there another big idea that you think could overwhelm the more pressing issues of unemployment and the deficit? >> anything that can happen on the international stage could take precedence. and i would say the next 6 to 9 months months, iran and the nuclear question will loom large. if there are going to be external pressures threatening the national security, we need a unified country and the best way to be unified is to get things

done early, reassure the rest of the american public it that's uncertain that washington can get it act together and that can put the country on on a better footing. >> had president obama not won re-election, how would that have changed his legacy? >> well, it certainly would have shortened it. it would have been defined by the two years of his presidency. if he wants to have an activist legacy, he has to do it in collaboration are republicans. republicans are willing to go on immigration reform farther than they had been previously. they want to put revenues on the table. and my colleague who does exceptional work on climate change has detected that there is a republican softening on the question of climate change, too. but the time window is short. no more than 20 months does this president have before all the things about 2016, the midterm

elections take precedence. >> in the article, bob schieffer's joke that the second term is usually plagued with scandal. is caved petraeus keeping that tradition alive? >> he certainly sparked it and at a level of sort of propriety that many in washington were astonished by. this is not something that appears to have a criminal undertow to it, but it is a scandal and it is something the white house has to deal with and benghazi and libya. but evsecond terms are sometime distracted by scandal and the petraeus is a surprisingly early example of that. >> okay. good to see you, major garrett. thank you so much. >> thank you. andrea mitchell's report with more information on what forced the head of the cia to resign is at the top of the hour next. ♪ [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate

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welcome to weekends with

alexwitt. we'll get to what's happening out there as we get new reaction today from washington to the surprise resignation of david petraeus. this from "meet the press." >> i've known him, he's a new yorker, i spent time in iraq with him. and your heart breaks for him and his wife. if he thought it was appropriate to resign, i'll leave it with him. >> i think leadership matters and setting an example and i don't think he had any choice given the sensitive nature of everything that he does that he could have any questions about his character or integrity. so i think -- >> host of msnbc's andrea mitchell reports joining me from washington with a new aspect to the story. hello to you, andrea. >> hi, there, al lebs. questions are being raised today about why the house and senate intelligence chairs were not informed sooner by the fbi about the investigation. especially because an fbi whistle blower notified other

house republicans including eric cantor at the end of october. but the white house says that the head of national intelligence james clapper was not informed until 5:00 p.m. tuesday. clapper told the national security leaders on wednesday. the president accepted the resignation that the general offered on friday. there are also questions about the other woman involved who triggered the investigation by complaining to the fbi about what she thought were harassing anonymous e-mails. the fbi looked into it and their investigation led to paula broadwell. her e-mail account then led them to petraeus. and of course to their conclusion that the two were involved somehow in a relationship. all of this will now be examined by the house and senate intelligence committees this week which were already convening to dig into benghazi. petraeus' final trip included stops in libya to get firsthand accounts about what happened before and after that fatal

night. >> all right. an drdrea andrea, thank you soech. pete williams is reporting that the woman who contacted the fbi is a civilian employee of a defense contractor. meantime petraeus is one of the few who may know the entire story behind the benghazi attack. the general was scheduled to testify thursday at the closed door session on the assault that killed ambassador chris stevens and three others. but today bob woodward says petraeus may still appear at the hearing. >> one of the things petraeus always does was dig deep. and so apparently there are videos or tapes and pictures and things that can be shown. so it is not going away and the question will be, i suspect, will he be asked to testify as a private citizen. >> meanwhile mike morell is expected to testify this week.

general petraeus is not the first cia director to resign amid scandal. 1994. and in 1996, john deutch quit. for more on general petraeus and how he became indispensable to two presidents, go to nbc.com. this friday, the president will sit down with congressional leaders at the white house. the goal of that meeting, to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, a $600 billion set of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that if unanswered could kick the country back into a recession. on "meet the press," both sides debated whether raising revenue by taxing wealthier citizens would help. >> is the bottom line that republicans losing this election means as the president said that they have to give in and allow taxes to go up on wealthier americans? >> the question is how do you do that. and how do you allow taxes to

rise at the same time you fix the real problem. and the real problem is uncontrolled entitlement spending and a government that has grown massively. >> we never really get real revenues because people believe in some things like dynamic scoring, sort of a counterintuitive view that if you cut taxes, you will get deficit reduction. and increased government revenues. it doesn't make sense. i call it rumblestilken. it's a fairy tale. >> mike vaquero is at the white house. in all seriousness, who are the big players? >> i think there are two and that is the speaker of the house john boehner because he leads the majority in the house and they can block or pass virtually any other thing the other big player wants to do and that is of course president obama. and one gets the sense after

watching the sunday shows, after listening to every that has transpired in the preceding days from the speaker, from the president, the democrats feel like they have the upper hand here. you saw chuck schumer, he went to one of the reporter breakfasts that we have around town every once in a while and he seemed to leave the door open to a negotiation with republicans, some give on this issue of taxing the wealthiest americans. those who make more than $250,000 a year. today he walked that back to the hard line being drawn to the president -- by the president saying whatever that happens, that rate has on go back up to 39.6% of income. republicans are hard and fast saying there's no way they can do it. it can't pass the house. and meanwhile we have patty murray, democratic leadership, on television today saying if this whole thing has to come down, if we're going over the cliff, we're going over the cliff. we are not going to pass anything, the president won't sign anything, backed up by a veto threat, he won't sign

anything that allows the lower rates for the wealthiest americans to move forward. p so that's the standoff right now. that is the context by which these folks, these congressional leaders will meet here at the white house next friday. >> okay. . many thanks. we're picking it up right here. joining me for more, eleanor clift and rachel smallken. we have the president and speaker boehner appear to be standing hair ground. did the president earn enough leverage to make republicans budge on tax hikes? >> i watched fox news this morning and i heard busineill cl say it wouldn't kill the republicans to raise the rates on the wealthiest americans. do they really want to fall on their sword to protect millionaires. half of whom live in hollywood and don't vote republican anyway. so i think you're beginning to

hear some pressure from the republican side of the aisle asking whether this is a fight they really want to have. do they want to go over the cliff with grover norquist or do they want to respond to what the american people said in the election. majority of americans said it was okay to raise taxes and especially on the rich. the tax initiative passed in california. and this is clearly a different environment. the republicans like to say it's a status quo election. but there are huge shifts and even the house which remained republican, more democrats voted and the republicans maintained the house only because of restricting and jerry than dering. so i do think the white house has the upper hand. but president obama has to be willing to also go over the cliff if necessary and not allow -- he can't be the one who blinks first.

>> rachel, listening to what eleanor is quoting bill crystal having said this morning on the talk shows, wouldn't it have been smarter for the republicans to get to that point a week ago if not sooner before the election? >> this is a real test for both john boehner and president obama. as any negotiation works, we see in the capitol, in this area, each side has to first mark their territory, go to their corners. and after each side has clearly established with their own position, then and only then can we start to see movement toward the middle. so the interesting thing about the dueling press availabilities that the president and the house speaker had on friday was that even though the positions sounded so different, they did both seem to leave a little bit of room for negotiation on this issue of raising revenue someby

and there does seem to be room it for agreement. >> i read in major garrett's new article, it's in the national journal, that silence on the fiscal cliff talks is better than noise. so if we hear no big posturing, if we hear very little from friday's bipartisan meeting at the white house, that's a good sign? >> well, i imagine that it's a good sign if in fact they're talking turkey, if you will, since that's coming up, as well, they're talking real turkey behind the scenes. and i think each side has to give the other a pass on some of the public rhetoric. rachel is right, they have to stick to their public stand. and i must say what the republicans seem to be yielding on sounds an awful lot like the romney tax package of lowering the rates and cutting the unspecified loopholes which might affect the middle class.

and that would take a long time to reform the tax code. so they have to come up with some short term call it what you will, mini road map, mini cliff, a slope, i don't know what, to get into the new year. >> how far do you think senate democrats will be willing to let the president go on compromise? might it be sliding the number ending up as a tax hike on those making more than $500,000 or a million instead much the 250,000 point? >> remember the president ran for election saying we must have a balanced approachnd that he did not want to see an extension of the bush era tax cuts that the rich had to do more. that is the basic line senate democrats will expect him to stay with. having said that, there will only be a deal if the president and the house speaker can each keep their own allies under control. and there is a little room for movement on both sides. >> i'll ask you both about predictions. will they get a deal done?

eleanor? >> they'll get something i think to slip us into the new year. and even if we go over the cliff, it's really not that steep. i think they can recover. >> rachel. >> absolutely. i think they will either punt as we have seen congress do, that is not unprecedented in history, give it some kind of little band aid approach to get us to the new year, or dive over the cliff but come back and pull us up, use the rope ladder or whatever they need to do in january to work out an actual deal. >> loving the analogies. very good. an astonishing fact about ohio and the election and how reverend jesse jackson was in the middle of all of it. i'm talking with him next. music is a universal language.

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. this veterans day, we're a absolute being our american heros. this morning in washington, the president laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns and september a message to all of our veterans. >> long after our heros come home, we stay by their side. that's who we are. and that's who we'll be for today's returning service members and their peoples. >> in chicago, a somber tribute to fallen heros. members of the military a absoluted the american tlag while hundreds of civilians and veterans paid tribute to their local heros. and towns large and small are remembering this holiday. here's the scene from milwaukee where parents and children lined

the streets showing gratitude for the parade through city streets. there are many more parades tomorrow. the high court has agreed to hear arguments against the historic voting rights act of 1964. an alabama county is charging the part of the law that allow requires most of the south to get federal approval. joining me is jesse jackson. thanks for joining us. >> let me say god bless the veterans. we tend to love soldiers much more than we do veterans. the veterans getting the care they deserve is a good thing. >> i agree with you wholeheartedly. but let's go with this case being brought to the supreme court because the plaintiff says governments covered by the law made substantial progress in the past 50 years or so nearly. is it still needed?

>> very much. there are patterns of race discrimination today. you look at the voting patterns on on the map, for example, and it's not just the southern phenomenon. it may have been gerrymandering. all these schemes have denied the right to vote. if anything has happened since '65, it has gotten worse. you think about one big factor in the race was an attempt to purge voters in ohio. they lost that case. there was an attempt to not only purge the voters, but use voter suppression schemes. they lost that case. they tried to stop early voting. they lost that case. those became stimulus. >> may i ask about the state of ohio because you spent a lot of time campaigning there for the president this election. why was that state so important this time around beyond the tradition that a republican can't win the white house without ohio which still stands?

>> well, both florida and ohio we spent a lot of time there, but let me say it really came down almost to the december coalition versus the confederates. you had voting -- early voting a million eight voted. 200,000 more for president obama. he went into last tuesday with a 200,000 margin. people lined up this great numbers in an attempt to purge a million voters.attempts to stop the early vote, it woke people up who were about to sleep through the election. when i went to see ohio state students lined up three blocks long voting. in '65, blacks couldn't vote. woman couldn't serve on juries. that coalition was the victors, kind of an lbj day last tuesday. >> exit polls show black voters accounted for a disproportionate number of the turnout in the buckeye state. 15% of voters. but they only make up absolutely

over 12% of the state's population. so what do you think drove that sort of turnout some did the threat of vote are suppression actually turn and -- >> i think it was the backlash. the turnout had a lot to do with i think that kind of attack and the backlash. but the republicans pushed off and in south carolina, 33% state african-american. no reach out. even in ohio where mr. secretary of state -- former secretary of state was african-american. >> blackwell. okay. >> yeah, blackwell. he was bush's co-chair in that state. he got 12% of the black vote. he penetrated. they didn't reach out to blackwell, didn't reach out to colin powell, did not reach out to the former rnc chair. he could not even get a floor

man at the convention in tampa. so pushing off of these leaders sent another rather threatening signal. plus president obama had done some things on the plus side. we lost 4 million jobs, gained 5 million. the arrow pointing up. who are students h more students had pell grants. more americans home from iraq. so in addition to the negatives, and i think the other part is calling him these coded names. you're a liar, you're a nonamerican, you're not a christian, we felt that pain and he was bearing that pain plus he became a kind of walking moderate. so in addition to those, the attacks on him became an attack on all of us. >> and of course you were mentioning michael steele, the former gop chair. but -- >> it's astonishing to me that the national chair of the party, he was not invited to the rnc chair reception in tampa.

he had no place. he highwaas inroads. colin powell had no scheme in the things. they lost votes president bush had one. >> may i ask if you have a gauge of how the so-called souls to the polls push weighed in all of this? >> it was big because i tell you, we went into last sunday with a 1.8 million early turnout. and 50% turnout in florida. but no early voting in pennsylvania, for example. but these early voting had a huge impact upon the outcome of this election for minorities and students and for working people. my concern is that now that the election is over, we must now have some plan to honor the hopes of the campaign, some plan for re -- we lost so many homes. and the black community, 40%

unemployment, not 8%, not 9%. we need some plan for reconstruction, rebuilding houses and put people back to work. >> you're absolutely right. refer ren jesse jackson, many thanks for your time today, sir. up ahead, office politics with eugene robinson on the search for a deal in washington. the hope for a compromise. it's the little things in life that make me smile. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip.

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the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers. two weeks ago tomorrow, hurricane sandy was making landfall and today janet napolitano is visiting staten island to view the storm response and recovery effortses. but on long island, hundreds of angry people protested outside the local power company office because they're upset that more than 100,000 customers are still without power today. i went through it a week myself. no fun. a new film is chronicling

another disaster, the dust bowl, which airs november 18th and 19th. chronicles the human struggle through devastating drought and dust storms that struck the great plains. here's part of it. >> we saw this cloud coming in, black, black dirt. and i'll never forget my grandmother. she said you kids run and get together.he said of the world's coming. >> sure looks like it. joining me now is the filmmaker himself, ken burns. always a pleasure. this is something that's being told that's almost an oral history narrative. talk about the drama here. >> well, this is bottom up story telling. we needed to find out if we could have a critical mass of folks who witnessed it. after our world war ii film, we thought, my goodness. so i made appeals on all the local pbs stap schls stations i

of the dust bowl saying do you have pictures, do you have home movie, do you have memories, meaning will you come forward. and people did. amazing human beings. and when you look at them, they're in their 80s and 90s, but let's remember an important thing. this is the worst manmade ecological disaster. we took an area greater than the size of ohio, tens of millions of acres that was grass land, and wi put it into cultivation during relatively wetlands and speculators came in and faerms came in and agri business made it a big, business wheat producing area. and then the inevitable drought came in.siness wheat producing area. and then the inevitable drought came in. but for ten years, the people in that area suffered the most from not just one or two stores, b s hundreds a year that killed

their crops, cattle, children. there was a recespiratory disea. playings of jackrabbits and locusts. >> people would just be gathering together and club them. >> they would have jackrabbit drives out of necessity. when the environment is so out of balance, these jackrabbits are coming in eating your garden, the last remaining green things that you have and they would have rabbit drives, whole communities would go into one area and club them to death. >> but it was almost like a social event. people had to do this to sustain their livelihood. >> to survive. and one of the agents of the problem was the government expanding the homestead act. but it was fdr's new deal that really saved their bacon in the end because only the united states government -- this is human nature against mother nature. the human nature that's greed, quick profits, and mother nature who will say, huh-uh.

just as we've learned in the last couple of weeks with bizarre snows, but more importantly strengthened hurricanes that are part of climate change. this is the first warning. but the government came in and helped the farmers plant differently, contour plow, rotate their crops, gave them money to survive, gave them jobs. a pretty amazing story. and at the heart of it is the testimony of these extraordinarily restiilient remembering this holocaust that was be falling their families. >> i read about those brothers, both in their 80s, who lost literally like a baby little sister and it kills them still. >> we think that memory is something old and distant that we have to dust off, that we have to clear the cobwebs.

both break down and cry remembering their little sister. and you realize that history is not was, but is. and there are many lessons from the dust bowl that we can take that apply to sandy that apply to long term -- human beings don't do long term planning, but now we're faced in this area is are we going to put up sea wells, what kind of storm barriers will we have to prevent the kind of tragedy. subway is 108 years old. it's never happened to the subway what happened. so that means this is the first of events that can only get worse. >> well, something definitely to watch, next sunday and monday nights. >> yeah, two parts. >> and then dvd and blu-ray. >> instantly out on dvd which is very exciting and then into the schools. it's something deeper and much more complicated than grapes of wrath. >> i'll be watching. thanks. new information on the resignation of general david petraeus. pete williams will join us in just a moment with that. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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welcome back. we have some developing news thousand. nbc news has uncovered new details on the fbi investigation that led to david petraeus' resignation. joining me on the phone, pete williams. what you got? >> there's been a question here about whether a phone call to a republican congressional staffer had any impact on the investigation, either in terms of pursuing it or in terms of speeding it up or making it known to senior intelligence officials. and today a senior law enforcement official says no, that that wasn't the case. but here's the way he describes it. he says that an agent who was initially involved in the petraeus investigation was removed from the case later because the agent knew somebody who was an associate of one of the people being investigated. the agent then called a republican staffer, but the fbi

insists that that had no effect on either the course of the investigation or the involvement of robert muller who is the fbi director or the decision to notify james clapper, director of national intelligence. this official says the investigation had to take a certain step by step procedure, that there were sensitive things that had to be observed, it was overseen very carefully and contrary to what some on capitol hill was said, the agent was not a whistle blower, and was not a catalyst in terms of how things finally resolved itself. as for who was sent the e-mails, remember the fbi got on to this when it discovered -- when another woman complained that she was receiving harassing e-mails. the fbi eventually traced them to the woman who was allegedly having an affair with petraeus according to e-mails. and that's what uncovered this

whole thing. the woman who received the harassing e-mails, they're not disclosing her name, but they're saying she was a civilian defense department contractor. >> do we know if she's still working in the defense department? >> no. >> we don't. okay. all right. pete williams, thank you very much for bringing us the latest details. in today's office politics, my conversation with eugene robinson. we talk about the future of obamacare and whether we'll all fall off the looming fiscal cliff. but first i asked about the role of race in this presidency. >> i never was a believer this post-racial, but i did believe that the president's election in 2008 was an enormous huge historic step, that brought tears to my eyes election night 2008. i was here at msnbc out on the

anchor desk as the returns came in when we heard through our earpieces that the election was going to be called for obama. you know, i pulled out my cell phone, i called my parents in south carolina. what this proves is that the first time wasn't a fluke. and it wasn't that people just decided, oh, gee, it would be neat to elect a black president and we can all feel good about ourselves for a while. we went through that phase and this election was about much more concrete things. and so what it told me, i was just thinking about this walking over this morning, i think, yeah -- obviously i knew that this nation was very different

from the nation i was born into. so has race gone away? no, it hasn't gone away. but much less important than it was. much less important. in terms of actual policy items, i think health care is the biggest in terms of being impacted by this election. remember, the health care law is still taking effect. most of it doesn't come into being until 2014. and there are these myriad ways in which the president and the executive branch have to decide how to implement the law. i do think it will be seen -- health care will come to be seen in this country the way it is seen in every other industrialized democracy and many developing countries. it's just something that an

advanced country out to believe it needs to provide. it certainly needs to provide access to. that's the way civilized countries behave. >> what about the looming fiscal cliff? i mean, this -- are you confident that it is going to be can dealt with and there will be a solution prior to january 2nd? >> you're asking fe me if i'm confident congress will get together and actually do something to avoid disaster? sorry, but that's funny. so i can't be so confident. the stakes are awfully high. and it helps that there was a clear drougoutcome from this election. the people have spoken. and so president obama now has a much stronger hand to know ingo

the negotiations. imagine if it were different. imagine perhaps the president just squeaked by and republicans took control of the senate and increased their majority in the house by a lot. that would be a very different situation. there would be a lot of incentive for republicans to resist, resist, resist. and just kind of stall it out. there's an opportunity now within the next few months to come to something like the grand bargain that president obama and speaker boehner almost agreed on. and that would be a huge thing for the country, a huge thing for the economy. for markets worldwide. i think for our sense of ourselves. that we can do stuff. we can still do stuff . >> and next weekend my interview with george poe tacky with his

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♪ ♪ time for the big three. today's topics, cliff note, most memorable moment and this week's must read. p so let's bring in my panel. patrick murphy, democrat from pennsylvania, arrol lewis, and robert tranum. good to see you all. >> happy veterans day. >> i'm glad we're reminding ourselves and our viewers of that. take a listen to house speaker john boehner when asked about raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. >> i made clear yesterday that raising tax rates is

unacceptable. aim not sure it can pass the senate. >> how much latitude do you think president obama has to make a deal with the gop and how far do you think democrats in the senate might allow him to go to make that compromise? >> i think most americans have faith in president obama. and that he's going to do right by every day middle class families. and i think when you break it down, president obama has done this, he's reaching out to the republicans and he wants to work a deal with both the senate majority leader, harry reid, and also speaker boehner, to cut wasteful spending which we know we need to do, but more importantly, to increase revenues. and there's a lot of different ways to increase revenues. you talked about letting the bush cuts expire, but also growing the economy to bring revenues up. and we have 32 straight months of job growth. we need to double done on that and start making things in america again because that's what will get our economy and our deficits and debt down so we

can pay off this national debt. >> robert, it sounds like raising tax revenues on anyone is out of the question. but do you think that is just bargaining positioning? >> yes, it is. no question about it. is this a classic washington argument. the president who just won re-election handily and the house republicans who also won re-election handily are both saying that the american people are speaking to them. and guess what, they're both right. the american people clearly listened to the national conversation and sided with president obama from a national perspective, but the house is still controlled by republicans. so both sides have to come together and it will have to be a concession on spending cuts, but there will also an concession on raising some type of revenue. both president obama and speaker boehner will have to meet somewhere in the middle. >> we look at the exit polls, 6 in 10 of the voters said we want to raise taxes. politically speaking, that's

never been something popular for a politician to say. but do you think that is changing now? >> it would have to change. and in a way it isn't really change. this president ran twice on this and won twice on on it. he wants to do something about people who make over $250,000 a year household income. and there is some bargaining room there. there's talk about moving it up to a million instead of 250,000. but the one thing nobody can say is that he's springing this on us as a surprise. everybody knew this was coming. they knew it when they went to the polls and the president has a strong bargaining position. i'd be surprised if nothing comes out of this. they'll meet somewhere in the middle. >> i'm curious, do you think it's survivable now politically speaking to say i want to raise taxes? >> well, obviously it is because president obama just got reelected. and also the democrats have

gained seven seats in the house and four seats in the senate. all hoe we do know that the republicans still have the majority in the house. but most americans are tired of the campaigns. they're tired of the rhetoric. they just want us to come together now that the election is over as americans to put the country forward. americans are willing to pay a little bit extra as long as they know it's not going to wasteful spending, as long as it's going to make sure we're balancing our budget and finally paying down the at the time which admiral mike mullen said is the national crisis the worst threat to america.time which admiral mike mullen said is the national crisis the worst threat to america. so we get it, now we have to act on it and put the country first. >> robert, is your greatest concern that it would go to wasteful spending? >> no, not at all. i think the devil's always in the details. when you ask most americans do they want the wealthy to pay their fair share, they'll say yes. but the follow-up question is do you think you're wealthy, no, no, absolutely not, don't raise

taxes on me. so the question becomes how do you define wealthy. 250,000 to a small business owner respect is that wealthy? for me it was bill clinton's speech at the democratic national committee. we've seen him at the political spouse, as the global philanthropi philanthropist. on that stage at that night. he was something else, was a leader of the party, a voice of basic democratic values, a role that is more suited to him, a role that you didn't realize you missed until you saw it there and it showed a stark contrast with the republican convention the week before when the name george bush wasn't really mentioned. >> a point this people were

talking about. representative murphy, your most memorable moment? >> being on stage with the president and about four dozen of my fellow veterans from iraq and afghanistan and the wars, standing there on primetime, thursday night right before the president spoke, talking about barack obama as a true champion to our fellow veterans and also how he served as a great commander-in-chief. i think especially today on veterans day when we look at every 80 minutes there's a veteran who commits suicide. we have to come together as a country to tackle this problem not just look the other way. because frankly, less than 1% of americans have served in iraq or afghanistan. you ought to come together as one. >> we should note also that you are the first elected iraq veteran. and so for that, we thank you for your time, your service overseas and your service in congress. let me get you, robert, your most memorable moment real quick. >> i would say let me thank you for your service, congressman. i think the most memorable moment for me was the first debate and how jaw-dropping it was on both sides in terms of

mitt romney cleaning the president's clock and the president coming back quickly on the second debate. >> let's get to the must-reads after the break. could eliminate the odor. [ woman ] take a deep breath, tell me what you smell. something fresh. a clean house. [ woman ] take your blindfolds off. oh!! hahahaha!!! [ male announcer ] febreze car. eliminates odors, so you can breathe happy. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. we have so much technology in our store to really show the customers what's going on with their bodies. you can see a little more pressure in the shoulders and in the hips. ... now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh, wow. that feels really good. at sleep number we've created a collection of innovations dedicated to individualizing your comfort. the sleep number collection, designed around the innovative sleep number bed - a bed with dualair technology that allows you to adjust to the exact comfort your body needs. each of your bodies. so whatever you feel like, sleep number's going to

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we're back with big three and time for your must-reads, former congressman patrick murphy, errol lewis and robert treanor. representative murphy, what is your must-read? >> "the new york times" great piece, especially today on veterans day on staff sergeant james smith of delaware. how he was home in iraq, afghanistan veteran, was home with his family, his wife, and he was out, and he's in his red hummer and unfortunately he snapped and he ran over a woman, a woman, picked her up off the street, put her in his car and drove off. and then unfortunately tragically, raped her. and the point of the column is that there's so many of these heroes and it's the minority, but we got to make sure that

it's not, it's the less than 1% that served over there, but it takes 100% of us as americans, not just today on veterans day, but every day to say what are we doing to take care of these heroes when they come home, what opportunities are we giving them for jobs, are they getting the treatment for mental health care that they need. >> a very sobering article indeed. but errol, to you? >> in capital new york.com, glen is mcnickel is a writer who volunteered. if you want to know what's going on in new york in the aftermath of the storm, get past the headlines and the statistics coming from the power company and the government and all that stuff. what's really going on on the ground, extraordinary how people had to fend for themselves and are still doing so. >> robert, you'res? >> quickly, "new york times," john boehner having a conference call with his colleagues, very sobering, i'll leave it at that it says tell the house gop to fall in line. i read that article, too.

all right you guys, thank you all so much. that's wrap of the sunday edition of weekends with alex witt. have a great day. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get an assortment of martha stewart living ornamen,s free when you purchase select artificial trees.

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